Pakistan Cricket Board would conduct an early dope test on vice captain Younis
Khan as the date of his marriage clashes with the pre-scheduled dope tests
session.
Younis had apprised the PCB of his unavailability for the dope
tests session to be conducted in Lahore on Friday, saying that he is getting
married on the same day in Karachi.
A PCB official confirmed that they had received Younis's request
from South Africa. "What we are trying to do now is to get the dope
test done on Younis in Karachi as soon as the team returns from South Africa
early Friday morning," the official said.
Younis' relatives said his marriage would be a low-key affair.
"It is an arranged marriage. The family members had chosen the bride. The
official reception would be held later on, perhaps before the team leaves for
the World Cup," one relative said.
The PCB has made it mandatory for all the players selected
in the World Cup squad as well as the reserve players to appear in the dope
tests.
The tests would be important for fast bowlers, Shoaib Akhtar
and Mohammad Asif who had tested positive for a banned substance, nandrolone
last October and were banned before being cleared by an appellate panel of the
board.
Saleem Altaf, Director Cricket Operations of the board
said that if they tested positive again they would not go to the World Cup.
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